


Touching Base

by Chromophilic_Daydream



Category: Persona 5
Genre: First Kisses, First connections, Happy Birthday Goro, M/M, No Persona AU, Phantom Thieves are still active after Shido's arrest, Post Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-02
Updated: 2018-06-02
Packaged: 2019-05-17 04:35:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14825354
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chromophilic_Daydream/pseuds/Chromophilic_Daydream
Summary: He could hardly keep up with it: the interviews, the whispers behind his back, the people approaching him like they had every right to do so. All these people around him who never cared before suddenly did. While it was gratifying in a sense that it was due to his accomplishments, it left a bitter stain on his consciousness that his story was easily marketable to keep people’s attention alongside speculation of the Phantom Thieves’ next target.And yet, here he was, begrudgingly finishing up an interview about trivial details of his plans on his birthday, and he knew he would get no rest.-Or-Where Akechi Goro seeks solace from the busy life of being a local celebrity in a worn out cafe twice.





	Touching Base

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Birthday, Goro! This is actually also the one year anniversary since I started writing for Persona 5! It's been a crazy year but I hope to keep going strong!
> 
> Thanks to Selvanic for betaing for me!!! Your help is tremendously appreciated! Thank you CaptainRessentiment as well! Always happy to have your input! Big shout out to my wife, who seriously has kept me going all this time. You're amazing and I love you.

Interviews had become second nature to him. He barely had any jitters of nerves before going on stage now besides the slightest shake in his hands when he was given a microphone. Though, fortunately, he had been equipped with a lapel mic during most TV specials. It took practice to keep his tone even and calm, but the tremor once present was barely detectable.

It was always the same anyway: talk about his cases, answer studio audience questions and discuss the Phantom Thieves. It had been this way for a long time and, he had been on more interviews than he could count or care to recall. It was a simple show to provide entertainment and nothing more.

The woman across from him, whose name he couldn’t care to recall, was happily chatting away about his accomplishments since he had first gained media attention the previous year. He listened to her upbeat tone, eyeing the screen in front of them with her words displayed across it so she remembered the things she wanted to discuss. He greeted the crowd during the correct time and listened to their cheers.

The same old song and dance. He barely paid attention to the questions; they all ended up being the same anyway: who do you think the Phantom Thieves are? Do you see them stopping any time soon? How difficult was it for you to turn your father in to the police?

The same questions with the same emotionally charged answers. Not too much, nor too little. Just enough power behind his words to leave an impression, but also enough to keep them from prying too much. It was like a dance, a pasodoble, even. He was the matador and the person asking him questions, the raging bull. Exciting to some but predictable to him. Nothing terribly fascinating about any of it. It barely engaged any part of his mind to speak on the same subjects he had been talking about since he first started appearing on television spotlights.

It was comfortable and utterly boring, reading the queue reel until—

“Well, moving away from all that for a second. Akechi-kun, I know your birthday is coming up on June 2nd. You have to have something special planned, right? Or do you think your girlfriend is trying to surprise you?”

His eyes scanned the teleprompter once more, relenting a small sigh of affirmation that he did not, indeed, miss that question in his pre-interview prep. It had not been scripted. Given how eager the interviewer was, he should have expected something like this to happen. She leaned forward, propping her elbow on her knee and smiling at his moment of silence. The glint of her lip gloss caught him like a deer in a headlight as she practically purred her question. And here he thought he'd gotten used to the spotlight.

However, as this caught him unaware, the question struck him like lightning, rooting him to his chair—electrified.

The silence from him dragged on for another few moments until his mouth formed words.

“I don’t have plans at all.” He answered far too earnestly. The moment they left his lips, he regretted his words. It was a misstep in this so-called ‘social arena’. He bought himself some precious seconds by forcing a soft cough, hiding his expression behind his hand to recover until his eyes met the interviewer once again.

The look in her eye resembled a jilted wild animal that was grinding its heels into the dirt in impatience.

The way her eyes narrowed at him, her lips curling into a fake gasp of shock, made his skin crawl. She knew exactly what she was after and he left that line of questioning wide open for her to charge at him and find his vulnerabilities. However, now was no time to panic; he needed a way out of this situation fast.

But that’s when she followed up, rushing him before he had another second of thought to spare.

“What do you mean? Does your girlfriend not want to spend time with her boyfriend?”

He practically hissed at the follow-up as she cornered him. The detective was often the victim of his own mind, rambling words spewing forth with minimal efforts to contain them when he was on a tangent. Or when he was surprised. It was the latter this time— the absolute worst case scenario.

For him, anyway.

He could still make this work though; he wasn’t completely committed to a negative or positive answer.

He waved his hand, like a red cape in his grip, brushing away the implications of her question. “It’s nothing quite like that.”

Non-committal, that’s how he would play this. He was revving in recovery mode now, knowing full well where this conversation was leading before the last syllable of her question was ever voiced.

However, it was a bit too late to make up some lie about having plans. That would have been easier—

So much easier than the follow-up questions were going to be now.  His inexperience with this type of attention was showing through careless words. She charged again.

“Well, well. Are you meaning to say that Akechi Goro, the hottest talk of the town, is actually single?”

There it was, the question he was dreading more than anything else this interview could have prodded him with. But at least now that it was asked, he had a backup answer.

Denial. That was the new game he set into motion, another wave of a red cape as she missed him.

“It’s a secret.” He chuckled, pressing a finger to his lips. His voice filled with an upbeat deception that was polished off by a wink.

A murmur broke out over the audience that stared at them, their words forming hums of incoherent chatter.  But the tone was still present—excitement.

He, himself, feeling the opposite—dread.

He cursed himself over and over in his head, not once letting his insults of himself or everyone else in the room reflectin his smile nor his posture. He knew the next few days were going to be hell.

The interviewer sat back in her chair, keeping herself held high—dignified as she tapped her long nails on her knee. She was impatient and dissatisfied with his answer. It was evident in the scarcely hidden scowl on her face.

“Did anyone ever tell you not to play with a girl’s heart, Akechi-san?”

That’s all this ever was. A jab at his personal life to try to sell him off as a hot, new trending story. A way to boost ratings at the expense of his privacy. He could see the headlines of the tabloids now if he gave any way into this ploy.

_Who is the Mystery Girl Our Favorite Detective Prince is Dating?_

Or even worse—

_Ace Detective Confirmed Single! Akechi Goro Says These 5 Things are the Most Desirable in a Partner._

So, he just laughed it off and nodded, keeping the non-committal denial game in play. “I would never dream of doing something like that, I assure you.” Sweet and light, the voice of an innocent that wasn’t silently cursing every single person in this muggy studio to a slow and painful death.

As if the last few months hadn't been hard enough. Ever since February when another interviewer tried to ask him his plans for Valentine’s Day, his life had been more chaotic than he ever expected. Then White Day came around, and the same prying questions had been littered into his interviews and discussion panels.

And now the subject just had to come back up again about his birthday? He finally managed to recover from the piles of notes and letters shoved into his work locker. He was finally at a point where he could make it through an entire day without women and men blocking his path or coming up to him to hand him presents.

Was he really going to be bombarded on his birthday? With everyone jumping to their own conclusions about his involvement with some person, he was not going to get a moment’s rest until the dreaded day was over. It was going to be the longest two days of his life— between his fans, school, and work.

He’d rather just live his life unbothered by all this idle chatter and the constant swarm of groupies that were seemingly everywhere he went. And yet, here he was, begrudgingly finishing up an interview about trivial details of his plans on his birthday, and he knew he would get no rest.

The interviewer thanked him for his time, a glint of satisfaction reflected against her glasses, and he thanked her as well, with a well-practiced smile hanging on his lips.

"You should come back soon!" She cooed and he strained his smile further and nodded.

"Of course, please feel free to invite me back any time."

_So I can decline your offer, happily._

And with that, he won this bullfight. Though by a narrow victory.

As he exited the studio, a trail of cries and yells of girls followed him. Luckily he was kept away from them, safely confined in the fence barricades; otherwise, he would probably be trampled.

He never got used to the idea of fans. He had obtained quite a dedicated bunch since he ousted the Prime Minister for his extortions of criminals to underhandedly win an election and take out the competition surrounding him. It was his biggest break yet, garnering media attention to someone so young taking down the most powerful political figure in all of Japan. But when the press learned that it was his own estranged father he helped arrest, Akechi Goro became a viral sensation overnight.

Not that he divulged his own involvements in Shido Masayoshi’s schemes. At least by pursuing justice and a career in law enforcement, he could atone for his involvement in some way.

His popularity before the arrest had been meager by comparison to what it was now. His outspokenness and opposition to the cybercriminal organization called the Phantom Thieves had gained him some recognition, along with the cases he, himself set up to solve.

But this… was a brand new beast. His new fame swept him up by storm.

That had been some months ago, but the focus on him had not died down for even a day. A throwaway child who became a nationwide celebrity in the span of a few hours. It was a story the tabloids couldn't keep up with. A "rags to riches" tale of an orphan who became a hero of justice.

The story practically sold itself with publishers almost freezing up his phone with calls for his account of the case.

He could hardly keep up with it: the interviews, the whispers behind his back, the people approaching him like they had every right to do so. All these people around him who never cared before suddenly did. While it was gratifying in a sense that it was due to his accomplishments, it left a bitter stain on his consciousness that his story was easily marketable to keep people’s attention alongside speculation of the Phantom Thieves’ next target.

He was a smidge grateful. Though he wished to be the one who finally caught the thieves and put a stop to their activities, they did make his living conditions much more favorable now to continually talk about them. After all, he didn't have income from the other side job he picked up exploiting Shido's political opponents and blackmailing them.

But this swarm of attention was wearing on him. He was having a hard time resting at night because of his college courses, school obligations and part-time work with the police on the case of the Phantom Thieves. He barely had time to socialize with his club at school, let alone socialize with anyone else. He had no time for a lover. Hell, he couldn’t even minimize the bags that were becoming deeper under his eyes due to lack of sleep. All because his story was a cash cow and the Phantom Thieves were still a hot topic of conversation, thus keeping him relevant.

In that effort to sell his lifetime and time again he quickly adapted to understand when interviewers were trying to get a scoop on his personal life.

However, he sometimes was still caught unaware by their sudden inquiries. Usually, it was some small detail: his favorite food, his favorite author, what his hobbies were. These questions were easily answered but blown out of proportion by the gossip columns. He almost got no privacy anymore between cameras following him and the small collection of squealing girls that trailed after him no matter where he went.

It was an adjustment that lost its novelty after a few months. If anything, it had become troublesome to him. After announcing what his favorite small time sushi place was, he could no longer eat there due to the swarm of fans who trampled the place after work. He mentioned his favorite author; her new book sold out from the bookstore just around the corner from his local train station. He offhandedly spoke of bouldering at his favorite trampoline park, and it became so crowded that he hadn’t been in three weeks. The small things piled up in a mound of irritating setbacks to his normal routine, and he was almost eager for his name to fade from the limelight.

That was never the kind of life he wanted nor planned for. He never considered the possibility that a nobody like him could gain such fame while in the process of exacting his revenge.

He could feel a headache pricking at his temples as he massaged them.

He was tempted to just sit out of school once the day rolled around, but his debate club was hosting an event where they discussed the Phantom Thieves, his favorite subject, and it would look bad on him if he didn’t attend. After all, he was the key proponent against their meddling in the affairs of criminals and ultimately blackmailing them into confessing. The drawback was that his position against them had softened a bit since Christmas. He doubted the tabloids noticed, but he did. When questions about them popped up from any source, he would quickly steer the conversation in another direction for his own peace of mind.

After all, they were the ones who helped put Shido behind bars. Their leader, who went by the code name of Joker, handed him a key piece of evidence that he had been missing. He didn’t know how this cybercriminal gang got their hands on something as vital as Shido’s personal black book. The email that had generated in his inbox had explained it was a peace offering to him to take the revenge he desperately was after.

It left him more questions than answers. Like how they managed to get into his inbox and create an email draft without a trace of their whereabouts nor a sign that they had hacked him. He didn’t understand how they knew he was working with Shido to destroy him… from the looks of their tampering, they hadn’t combed through any of his routine emails sitting in his inbox. He never kept damning evidence of his activities in such a place anyhow. But somehow they knew; he honestly couldn’t put a finger on their angle or what they hoped to achieve by giving him these records.

But their information checked out—

And it turned out he was incredibly close to decrypting that information out of Shido's remote server, himself. And it was at that point he had a decision to make. To continue his revenge and sabotage himself to out Shido or…

The right thing… probably. This information was enough to hang his father with. And so he became the executioner who laced the noose around Shido’s neck.

The week after, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police executed one of the biggest criminal ring busts in the history of modern Japan. Everyone from human traffickers to hitmen of the Yakuza were on that list.

The police played it like Shido had tipped them off in exchange for a lighter sentence. A ploy like that took a lot of the heat off of him and placed it on the politician, as it belonged. Niijima Sae did an excellent job of construing the truth to shift the responsibility, and he thanked her deeply for it. She often reminded him over coffee or sushi just how much overtime she did to help him as a way of making him begrudgingly pay for her share of whatever they were partaking in. It’s not that he really minded, knowing he could never repay her for what she did for him.

Nor could he really repay the Phantom Thieves, as he became their unwilling client.

After that, it was kind of difficult to talk about the Phantom Thieves as if they were true criminals. He flourished from their information and even considered trying to somehow email them back to offer to buy their leader a cup of coffee. Well, a cup of coffee followed by a police escort.

He acted on the impulse, just once. He felt foolish, typing into that email draft the Phantom Thieves had left him. Regardless, he never got a response to the invitation to treat their mysterious leader to a drink. He expected as much; it was asinine to expect such a worthy rival to agree to such a thing, anyhow.

So, he banished the idea, letting himself come to terms with the fact that he was already so close to the truth on his own. All he did was receive a little information he would have naturally come across in a few weeks time.

Even so, it was irritating to have criminals soften his view that he was adamant about. Especially when he was so close to the information gifted to him.

Nonetheless, the garnered attention was beginning to be a bit too much to bare. He still politely wrapped up the interview with nothing but a smile on his face and immediately texted Sae after. The craving for sushi after a stressful day seemed to be the easiest solution to help him unwind.

She answered him back almost immediately.

[I’m off in 30, You really messed up that badly?]

He let out a confused hum at the message and promptly sent one back.

[What's that supposed to mean, Sae-san?]

[You always want sushi after a hard interview. Did you get asked about the Phantom Thieves again or your love life? I've told you, my sister has a friend who is single and I think you'd like him.]

He gripped his phone and stared over the message before bringing the device up to his forehead and letting out a deep sigh.

[I don't have time for anything like that, so please stop reading so much into all this. I'm just in the mood for sushi, I promise.]

[I'll see you in 20. Usual place. You can rant about your interview all you want but you're paying. And I'm giving you his phone number.]

He could practically see her sly smirk through the teasing message. She was a strict woman, proud and ambitious. However, he became accustomed to her personality and even her understated yet overbearing tendencies to worry about him. She had easily become more of a big sister to him than a colleague. Not that either of them would ever talk about that kind of thing. He just assumed that's what that sort of relationship felt like. He couldn't say he minded it very much at all, either.

She had brought up this friend of her little sister's several times to him in the past like it was her obligation to play matchmaker for him. He never officially told her his tastes either, nor that he was interested in men... it just was never something that came up in normal conversation. So, it hit a weak spot in his pride that he got ousted so quickly by his superior during dinner a few months ago.

Maybe he'd just take the number so she'd stop pestering him about getting out more.

[Fine, see you in 20.]

[Make sure your little fan club doesn't follow you, I like the food there.]

He didn't know what was so special about the conveyor belt sushi place that he and Sae haunted after a long day at work, but he wasn't going to ask. She had shared his frustrations of wanting to go eat somewhere they often visited and seeing it overcrowded with his fans. Any sort of questioning her excuses for wanting to be left in peace would probably not go over well with her, no matter how ridiculous the reasoning. Regardless, he made sure that there was no one tailing him that he didn't easily shake off. It took a bit longer than it normally would have, even though he was already relatively close to the building.

By the time he reached sight of the door, he saw a glint of ash gray hair standing off the far side of the signs highlighting the daily specials.

Just as he was about to open his mouth to alert her that he was close by, his phone buzzed again in his hand.

[You didn't mention this place in your interviews did you?]

He stopped mid-step and frowned. Oh no...

[No, why do you ask?]

[I keep hearing your name from girls in the queue here.]

This was a code red. He quickly clicked out of his messaging app and scrolled through ameba and Twitter for his name.

That's when he found it, posted four hours previously... a picture of him and Sae standing outside the very same establishment, labeled—

_Akechi Goro's Top Five Food Spots._

_Shit._

He screen capped the Twitter link and messaged it to Sae. [I'm going around the back of the building before anyone sees me.]

[I'll meet you there.]

He rounded the building, the frustrations from the interview and now this settling into his temples as he let out an irritated sigh.

The toe of his shoe found the exterior brick wall as his composure collapsed for just a moment. Flicking through the article, he found candid photos of easily his favorite places exposed for the whole world to see. He had been frequenting them for over a month now and thought, for sure, he had been careful not to let anyone know. But there he was, pictured with all of them; the bread shop on the way to his station, the dessert place he dropped by sometimes since it was open late, the ramen shop his debate club went to a few times, the building he was standing outside right now and even the cafe he did his college work at.

All places he couldn't go back to now because of the crowds of people his popularity would bring to them. He never even mentioned them in his food blog because he still wanted some places to be able to eat in peace but...

Now he'd have to start over... again. He was tired of starting over.

"Akechi, are you alright?"

He looked up from his phone to crack a simple smile at his coworker. "Yes, I'm fine, it's nothing to worry about," he lied, not putting any effort of conviction in his words. "I'm sorry."

Sae's hand waved in the air, brushing off his apology before her arms crossed over her chest. "It wasn't for nothing; it's not like you asked to be ambushed at dinner." She sighed before pulling out her phone.

"That article is trending now."

He groaned inadvertently. Of course, it was _trending._

"What shall we do now?" He was out of suggestions. Everything he valued had been stolen from him by the press.

"Well..." He looked up at her, her eyebrows knitted together in a pensive stare at him. "I know a place we could go. It's not sushi though... it's curry."

Curry never sounded better.

"Please, I would be ever so thankful."

She motioned for him to follow her. "It's a hole in the wall but I think you'll like it."

The gentle ringing of bells overhead barely registered to him as they walked past the threshold of the small cafe. Sae had been right; there was nothing terribly impressive about the place, from the furnishings to the older man behind the counter who grumbled a greeting. However, the mouthwatering smell of curry mixed with the earthy scent of ground coffee made the outdated establishment feel very... homey.

He already swore to Sae he wouldn't take any pictures of Leblanc, lest it become a new nest for his fans to swarm. The sun had already begun to sink down below the horizon, the fading light streaming through the windows. The heat of the day was still trapped inside the cafe, however, it didn't feel uncomfortable.

He settled into a vacant chair at the bar, taking note that they were the only ones in the cafe other than the old man bent over a crossword puzzle and what appeared to be a teenage boy washing dishes.

In other words...

Not a single soul in sight, fan or otherwise.

This was an excellent recommendation already.

"See?" Sae commented as she sat down as well.

"I understand what you mean. I like the atmosphere in this place more than I did with sushi." He chuckled and looked at her. She gave him a slight smile and nodded.

"Are you a regular here?" He asked, leaning back in his chair and finally allowing himself to relax his guard just a bit and loosening his tie.

"Nah, she isn't. But she pretends to be." The owner, or who he assumed to be the owner, chimed in and handed them a small menu.

"If you know my order, doesn't that make me a regular, Sakura-san?" She interjected, pushing the offered menu away from her. "I'll have my usual."

The man, identified as Sakura, massaged his shoulder and let out a loud sigh. "Kid, we got customers, come help."

Goro gazed over the menu as a clink of cups and then a loud crash of something made him snap his head up suddenly. The older man was cursing loud enough for both him and Sae to hear.

“Be more careful.” Sakura scolded his employee, who had just knocked over a stack of coffee mugs that were laying in pieces behind the counter. Goro peeked over to see the dark-haired boy picking up shards of ceramics off the wooden floor.

“Sorry, boss.” He muttered his apologies, his head ducked down and placed another broken cup into his green apron. What a clumsy person.

Sakura offered an irritable apology as well for disturbing them.

“My part-timer still doesn’t seem to know his way around this place, it seems. Despite living here for well over a year. I’ll get your coffee started, Niijima-san. What are you having?” He directed his attention to Goro who smiled politely.

“Whatever Sae-san is having.”

“Two regular lattes and curry then.”

Goro nodded and watched the other teenager still picking up pieces of broken mugs before discarding them into the trash and grabbing a broom to sweep up the remnants.

Clumsy… but eye-catching in some way he couldn’t exactly put his finger on. Seeing his full face now, though hidden behind thick black-rimmed glasses, he had a handsome face. His eyes were sharply focused and light grey from what he could see behind the dark curls of his hair.

Ordinary but... there was something intriguing about him, something almost mysterious. And he did love a good mystery. He observed him while Sae chatted with Sakura about something he was vaguely paying attention to. The employee began to help his boss prep their lattes.

He leaned his cheek on his hand just as the cup of coffee was placed in front of him and the other boy finally made eye contact with him. He was right, his eyes were grey. Almost a murky smoke color. His lips were downturned, a natural frown that was almost off-putting.

"Thank you." He smiled gently, watching the other's face for some sort of reaction.

"You're welcome."

"Hopefully you're better at making coffee than washing dishes." He mused lightly, keeping his tone sweet and playful as he took a sip.

"If I wasn’t, I'd be out of a job, I'm sure." The other boy quipped back, flatly at his jab. It was true; it wasn't too bitter at all, even without the aid of sugar.

"Not bad at all."

They held each other's gaze for just a moment longer before Sae drew his attention.

"Did you want to talk about the interview still?"

"If you don't mind."

He filled her in on all the details, even pulling up a video of his interview to illustrate his discomfort. He knew himself well and could tell that question really did throw him off his game, if even for a moment. She ended up laughing and telling him he was much too hard on himself. He tried to rebut, explaining just how difficult his slip up was going to make it for his birthday, when their curry was placed in front of them.

That was when he caught the other worker staring at him. He blinked and the other boy looked away, busying himself with something.

Odd.

“You’d think that since Shido’s arrest in December, the public would stop latching onto you so much,” Sae commented before quietly partaking in her curry.

“You’d think, but the public is fickle. I’m sure I’ll do something sooner or later that will make them disenchanted with me. However, today is not that day. As long as I’m on the case of the Phantom Thieves and they remain active or avoid arrest, I fear I won’t be out of the spotlight for a considerable amount of time.” He sighed, head hung ever so slightly. He was exasperated. At first, the attention was enjoyable; he felt like he was finally someone in this rotten world.

His attention once again turned to the boy in the glasses and saw his face did not change from its seemingly usual expression, lips downturned. He didn’t know why he was so fascinated by such a boring person but…

“What do you think?” Goro asked, their eyes meeting for a fleeting moment before he took a sip of his coffee.

“‘Bout what?”

“The Phantom Thieves. They’ve been in the news for over a year now, surely you have some opinion of them.”

The boy thinly shrugged, but there was a glint in his eye that sent a chill down Goro’s spine, despite the warmth of the coffee and curry that was settling in his stomach.

“They’re doing more than you lot.” His voice was quiet but filled with confidence. It made him smile. It wasn’t often that someone had the balls to oppose his position, at least not to his face. After a whole year of having people agree with him then sharply change their minds with the rise in popularity of the Phantom Thieves, this was a breath of fresh air, and it surprised him.

“Oh, and what do you mean by ‘you lot’?” He set his cup down as he crossed his legs and leaned forward.

With another shrug, the boy quickly glanced at his boss then back to the detective. “You’re cops, right?”

Sae hummed in soft amusement. “Hardly. I’m a prosecuting attorney, and he is a detective consultant for the Tokyo Metro Police.”

“Oh, so you’re worse than cops then— ow!” The boy jabbed back just as his boss hit him with the ream of newspaper he was busying himself with. He rubbed his head.

“Go do more dishes, Amamiya. Stop making trouble.”

“No, it’s fine. It’s really no trouble,” Goro interjected and smiled at the older man. “This is interesting. It’s not every day someone disagrees with me so strongly.”

Amamiya stared at him as he rubbed his head where he was whacked and frowned. “And who are you again?”

He couldn’t tell if the small jab to his pride was intentional or not but nonetheless, he maintained his smile. This was another bullfight… but of a completely different caliber.

“Where are my manners, I’m Akechi Goro. I’m just a first-year college student and a part-time detective. Nothing too special, I’m afraid.”

There was a moment of silence… he could still the bull in his mind, kicking up dust as he prepared for the charge of either complete indifference or disgust but—

It never came.

“Amamiya Ren, third year at Shujin Academy. Just a part-timer here, nothing too special either. Seems we have something in common there.”

He never expected the other teen to actually introduce himself in such a manner. Usually, when people had this attitude with him, it always ended in blowing him off or just being rude to him. But there was something else in that short statement that made him falter. He didn’t know how or why it struck him as a lie, but something about those words parroted back to him signaled a taunt.

Like he were the bull.

And Amamiya was the one waving the flag.

But the softened expression on Amamiya’s face as he matched Goro’s modest statement told him something different. This was so peculiar; he didn’t know how to decipher it one way or the other. It was almost… light-hearted. It was odd. Like Amamiya threw away whatever flag he was originally waving at him. Like he was inviting him rather than jeering at him.

“It’s nice to meet you, Amamiya-san.”

“Same to you, Akechi-san. Did you want another coffee?”

There was no forced politeness in his tone, nor his offer. As someone who survived to this point on a throne built of lies, he knew how to recognize someone being disingenuous with him. There was something deeper here, something he wanted to investigate further.

It made him want to spend the rest of the night indulging in deep discussions with Amamiya.

“Yes, please. Do you mind if we continue our conversation?” He asked carefully as the barista ground the beans for his coffee.

“About the Phantom Thieves? You won’t change my mind on them.”

“That’s not my intention at all, I assure you.”

The dark-haired boy nodded, the gentlest of smiles gracing his lips. Had Goro been a less observant person, he would have missed it entirely, he was sure.

However, the invitation was extended and accepted. And for the first time in a long while, he felt completely comfortable in his surroundings.

“Don’t jeopardize any of our investigations, Akechi.” Sae interjected and almost caused him to jump. He had forgotten she was there for a few minutes.

“Of course not. I’m not a rookie, Sae-san.” He smiled at her and turned his attention back to Amamiya who had just placed his coffee in front of him.

And they talked… for hours. About all manners of things and opinions from the Phantom Thieves to public policy. Amamiya was well informed on subjects that, frankly, excited him. From works of detective fiction to organized crime to power corruption among even local politics. Goro found himself chatting more so than the boy behind the counter, but when Amamiya had something to say, the power behind his voice did nothing but egg Goro on further to deepen their conversation. He heard Sae comment that it was like she was watching a debate, and that’s exactly how he felt.

It was riveting. Far more than any interview he had ever had, or any discussion in the club at his university.

They chatted long after scraps of curry were the only thing lefts on the plates. It was around then that Sae said her good-byes. They were in the middle of talking about the structure of criminal prosecution when she stood up.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Akechi-kun. Don’t miss the last train.”

He nodded at her. “I won’t.”

She placed her money on the counter, “I’ve got both of our meals.” She told Sakura, almost smugly.

“Hold on, you were telling me I had to pa—”

“Consider it an early birthday dinner. I think I’ll be busy on Saturday, so I hope this will do.”

His heart skipped a beat, genuinely moved that she did such a thing for him. “Thank you…” He didn’t get to experience this sort of thing normally, someone treating him to something for no other reason than to do it. He felt a bit guilty, having spent the entire evening talking to someone other than her, but he decided to talk to her about it later.

“Just don’t stay up all night. I know you’re young but I can’t have you slacking on me tomorrow at work.”

He smiled sheepishly. “Me? A slacker?”

“Right, right. Good night.”

After Sae departed, Sakura informed Amamiya to close up and left as well. It was only then that Goro realized how late it was as he looked over his watch.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t realize the time.”

Amamiya shook his head and sat down beside him. “It’s no problem. The shop is clean; I just need to flip the closed sign. The last train comes at eleven though, so you have time.” The tone of his voice was much lighter than it was when Goro and Sae first arrived.  It was such a relaxing atmosphere in the cafe, and they were obviously both enjoying their discussion… even if they didn’t see eye to eye on a number of things.

He blinked and checked his watch once again. That was another half an hour. “You’re asking me to stay until then?”

“Why not? This has been fun.” He leaned back in his chair and pushed his glasses up onto his nose. “Not every day someone cares about what I have to say.”

“It’s often that adults don’t care for the opinions of the youth. Unless listening to them gives them some sort of advantage to use them.” He sighed, slipping his phone out to set a five-minute alarm to tell him when to leave. He wished the trains ran a tad later; however, he could always return. Well, if Amamiya wanted him to. He had been far too used to either end of the spectrum: either people wanted his undivided attention for their own satisfaction, or they wished nothing but harm to come his way because they did not agree with him.

“Yeah, you’re right about that. Sounds like we both know from experience.”

He hummed and looked over at him, smiling gently. “Perhaps. I find it more fruitful to discuss these kinds of things among my peers, though none have opposed me quite as strongly as you just have.” He chuckled, absently tracing the rim of his coffee cup with a single finger.

“Am I considered a peer now? Or a rival?” Beside him, he saw Amamiya lean against the counter out of the corner of his eye, watching him. He turned and their eyes met.

He forgot what he was about to say. It was common for him to go off on a tangent when he was passionate about something, lose his train of thought but…

He never just forgot what he was going to say.

Amamiya’s stare robbed him of words; the slightest of smirks on his lips robbed him of more.

It broke his composure...it made him positively flustered.

“I don’t—” He stuttered, feeling heat creeping up his neck. He took a deep breath and slowed down to clear his throat. “I don’t know why you would say rival.”

“You said yourself, it's not every day someone opposes you so strongly.” The smirk on the other’s face spread in the most subtle of ways that maybe he wouldn’t have even caught onto if he hadn’t been staring. It was then, though, that he realized he was staring.

He coughed into his hand, breaking their eye contact and buying himself some time, much like earlier in his interview. However, there was still no flag in play here, there was no denial, no ambiguity. There was no way he could play this off.

Goro swallowed thickly, trying to form some semblance of words when his alarm went off on his phone.

“Sorry.” Amamiya beat him to the apology. “Looks like I lost track of time too. I can walk you to the station.”

“There’s no need,” He let out a sigh of relief, the tension in the air disappearing as soon as the alarm sounded. “I’m perfectly capable of walking myself.”

Amamiya still saw him to the door regardless and flipped the sign that hung there to Closed. The air outside was still stagnant and warm, though the sun disappeared from the sky hours beforehand. Summer was going to be scorching this year, and he could already feel it even at the end of May.

“Thank you for hosting me for so long.” He turned, facing Amamiya once more. He was met with a grin, wide and honest, and it took him aback.

“Come see me again. Anytime. I wanna earn that rival status.”

He laughed, the sincerity on Amamiya’s face so vastly different than the expression he wore when Goro first stepped into Leblanc. “I’m sorry, I think that title is reserved for the leader of the Phantom Thieves.”

Amamiya’s gaze was steadfast, his smile unfaltering. “I’ll give him a run for his money. See you soon.” With that, he waved and locked up the shop.

The warmth outside was nothing compared the flush that spread across his cheeks.

What a weird person.

He made it home and slept easily that night, forgetting all about the press and his interview and even the Phantom Thieves. For the night anyway.

It was so unreasonable for him to be so swept up in the thought of someone he didn’t even know before today. There was something though, something he couldn’t place his finger on that was bothering him the whole night. He was far too comfortable, far too invested too quickly in some stranger.

And what was the most infuriating thing about this whole debacle was that he already knew why he was so interested. He was smitten. He wasn’t one to believe in such things as love at first sight or nonsense like that. It worked well in romance novels; however, this was real life. What he did know was that he was attracted. Anyone who could hold their own in a conversation with him already had his attention… but Amamiya’s intensely warm eyes directed at him and entirely at him? The discussions they had were quickly paced and engaging. He never felt like he was picking up the slack in their conversations. Amamiya kept saying things that surprised him.

He wouldn’t say it was love at first sight… no… it was more like—

Intrigue. And attraction. And he could tell they were both feeling it, especially in that last half hour or so. The way Amamiya’s eyes bore into his own, the heavy atmosphere around them that seemed to want to suffocate them both. The interest in becoming rivals was a soliloquy. Maybe. Either way, he regretted not getting his number, though the invitation of Goro going back to Leblanc was fresh on his mind throughout the entire next day.

The next morning he apologized to Sae for being so distracted, but she didn’t seem to mind. She could tell he was enjoying himself and she got to have her favorite coffee in the city, so it was no trouble for her. She did pry a bit about how late he stayed. It seemed nothing really escaped her notice. Not that she said she saw their chemistry, but she implied it with a simple, well place statement.

“Seems I don’t have to give you my sister’s friend’s number anymore.”

He laughed at that, recovering from the subtle implication. “I wouldn’t go that far, Sae-san. It was just one evening.”

She shook her head. “That’s not what I meant… Amamiya is my sister’s friend.”

Goro stared at her, pieces of the puzzle falling into place. “Wait, did you set me up?”

The older woman just shrugged at him, turned back to her computer and began typing. “It just happened to work out that way. Don’t complain.”

He couldn’t even be upset with her… He almost wished he had just accepted the number ages ago when she offered it to him the first time. However, it didn’t solve the fact that he was still incredibly busy. Far too busy to be thinking of some guy he met once.

Who knew when he would see him again?

Turned out it was sooner rather than later.

He woke up on the morning of his birthday feeling well rested. He hurried to get ready just like any other day and quickly skimmed his email to see a blank draft open. He stared at it for a moment, heart racing. He highlighted the body of the email and found nothing hidden there. This was suspicious.

He undid any changes to the draft to see if something was written and backspaced. This was just like the time he received Shido’s black book from the Phantom Thieves. But there was nothing in the email at all, except the blank draft that he did not open.

Goro quickly checked the other email, his invitation to coffee still glaring at him, completely untouched. He highlighted under his inquiry to find nothing else. Curious…

It was pretty disappointing; maybe he did just open an email he didn’t recall. But he couldn’t waste any more time on it. The last thing he wanted to do was be late for his class and club activities.

However, he ended up being late anyway. He wasn’t quite prepared for the number of people intercepting him and giving him small cards and gifts at his connecting station. Crowds of loud girls asking if he was Akechi Goro and if they could give him birthday gifts. He missed his train because of it. It was already beginning to overwhelm him, the thought of the blank email and the late night at Leblanc far from his head as he dealt with the armful of presents being thrust at him.

He ended up throwing them all away when he managed to escape to a vending machine. Luckily, the cameras started snapping after he had done away with the presents that were too cumbersome for him to cart around. It would have looked really bad on him throwing gifts away.

He pushed past the small barricade of gossip reports and caught his train, praying his professor would still let him into class. As if his birthday wasn’t hard enough already, a steady reminder of surviving this harsh world another year… it was difficult without family, no one to greet him when he came home, no one to call and wish him a good day. That had changed over the last year; he had acquaintances and colleagues now that did send him messages. Sae wished him a great day and apologized for not being able to spend time with him. It was fine, though. The amount of attention he was already getting so early in the morning was making him dizzy.

School wasn't much better.

It made it difficult to concentrate during debate practice, though he still managed to speak his side. It reminded him of Amamiya though, and he wasn’t so sure his skills right now would hold up if someone in the club really had the intentions to find a fallacy in his case. If the other boy were here, he was sure he would have come out with a stronger opposition against Goro than even his classmates could muster.

He was so distracted today, barely able to concentrate on one task without someone coming up and wishing him a happy birthday or offering some sort of small gift. Compared to a couple of years ago when he was still living in an institution, he wasn’t sure which reality he preferred: one where no one knew who he was or one where everyone knew even the details of where he went to school and what kind of chocolate he favored.

However, the crowd as he stepped off of the train towards home made him close to panic. This was worse than Valentine’s Day. Much worse. It was so surreal to see so many people waiting for him to get off, that they even knew his stop. Their banners and signs with his name on it, and some with his face even, made him freeze in his spot. He felt people push past him but he didn’t get off the train as some people came on. Goro looked around for a means to escape, quickly maneuvering through the crowd in the train car to get to the next one.

He couldn’t go home for a while it seemed. But where could he go? He didn’t want to be ambushed again, not today. Today was already hard enough without the added stress of fans who were now out of school.

It could even get worse.

His mind was racing, trying to come up with some solution. All his safe havens had been ripped away from him and—

Except one.

The glint of cheap plastic frames struck him like a bolt of lightning in his memory. The coy grin and invitation from Amamiya Ren that he could come back whenever he wanted residing loudly in his ears. The relaxing atmosphere of Leblanc was so tempting to pursue.

Even if Amamiya wasn’t guaranteed to be there. Which, truthfully, he hoped he wouldn’t be. At least not until he calmed down. Sakura didn’t seem like the type to drive away any customer, either, so…

It was a good train ride away, far enough away from Shibuya that no one should follow him. While he did not, honestly, doubt that the girls who saw him wouldn’t follow him, he could hide in Leblanc.

His heart raced in time with the rhythm of the bells that jingled over his head as he forced the heavy wooden door of Leblanc open. He knew he was hardly presentable, the hair at the nape of his neck sticking to his skin through a thin layer of sweat. He doubled over, setting his attache case aside, and rested his hands on his knees, panting heavily like he just ran a marathon.

From the station to the cafe was not very far, but he had to take a long way around to escape from his pursuers that had been tailing him since he switched cars. He had seen them looking for him from the window of the compartment he occupied. He figured they’d give up as he kept shuffling at different stops to another car. However, once he exited, he saw a glimpse of one of them and immediately began to make his way towards Leblanc. He thought he would have lost them, surely,  but running was the only way to really cement his victory.

Of course, it was hot out, and the air inside the cafe was not as refreshing as air conditioning would be, but it was better than being out in the heat and still being chased.

“Hey, back so soon— Akechi, are you okay?”

His head snapped up with the mention of his name. The mild frown that framed Amamiya’s lips confirmed that the very person he didn’t want to be working just now was, in fact, the very person behind the bar. It had to be him and not his boss, who was nowhere in sight. Today was not favorable in the least.

He heard loud voices outside and rushed footsteps that made him jump up instantly. Back to reality. He grabbed ahold of his case once more and hurried to the counter.

“Hide me.” He pleaded, staring those grey eyes down in desperation.

“Excuse me?” The other boy asked, pushing his glasses up on his nose to hide the surprise that was riddled over his face.

“I said _hide me_.” He put his attache case on the other side of the counter. “Quickly. Please.”

“Okay?” Amamiya relented and motioned for him to come behind the counter. Goro willingly followed his lead, putting his case down on the ground and huddling down so he was out of sight.

“What exactly is going on?” The dark haired boy directed his question down towards where Goro was hiding just as the door opened. He could hear the sound of excited murmurs from a small flock of girls. _Shit, shit, shit._

He held his breath, hoping the other was quick enough on the uptake to understand what was going on. Quietly he chanted in his head, hoping on some off chance Amamiya was actually a mind reader.

“Welcome in, can I help you?” Amamiya’s leg brushed up against his back as he addressed the girls. Goro made himself even smaller, huddling by unground bags of coffee.

“Um… did Akechi-kun come in here?” He heard a timid voice ask. Goro let out a silent sigh and buried his face into his knees.

_Please go away._

“Akechi-kun?”

“Akechi Goro.” One of the girls clarified shortly. “We saw him in this area, did he come in here?”

“Akechi Goro…” Amamiya mulled over the name and Goro was very tempted to rip his own hair out. “Isn’t that that annoying guy on TV?”

He jolted, whipping his head up so quickly. He hit it against one of the shelves and bit his lip as pain threatened to make him yelp. He had enough presence of mind to clap his hand over his mouth before hitting the other boy in the leg with a balled fist.

“W-what was that?” Another small voice asked at the sudden noise.

Amamiya coughed and glared down at him. He returned the glare with earnest and rubbed his head gingerly. That hurt. He recovered enough to make out what the girls were talking about.

“If he didn’t come here, maybe somewhere else?”

“Why would he run away?”

“Maybe he doesn’t want to be bothered. You shouldn’t chase after people who obviously are trying to get away from you. That won’t win you anyone’s affection.” The barista leaned on the counter above him. Was he really… defending him? His heart hammered loudly in his ears, dulling out the throbbing pain in his head.

“You would never understand, you jerk.”

“Come on, let’s go. He has to be around here somewhere.”

With that, he heard the jingle of bells signaling it was okay to at least let out a loud sigh. A hand appeared in front of his face, causing him to jump ever so slightly as he glanced up at Amamiya.

“You didn’t have to hit me you know.” There was a slight teasing tone to his voice that made him unwillingly smile.

He began pushing himself off the floor, taking ahold of Amamiya’s outstretched hand and clambering to his feet.

“You didn’t have to call me annoying.” He retorted, brushing the wrinkles out of his pants.

The other boy shrugged and leaned back on the counter. “It got them to leave, right? I doubt they’ll come back now, too.”

He nodded and stared at the door. “Yes, thank you for hiding me.”

Amamiya pushed his glasses up onto the bridge of his nose and chuckled softly. “Buy me a cup of coffee and we will call it even on this one.”

He cocked an eyebrow and huffed. “Really?”

“Does boss seem like the type to give out free coffee, Akechi?”

The detective sighed and shook his head. “I suppose not. Though, you can call me Goro, please.”

“Only if you call me Ren, your lord and savior.” The dark haired boy gave a small, crude bow and Goro found it overwhelmingly difficult not to smack him in the head.

“I will not call you _that_.”

“Fine, fine. I _guess_ you can just call me Ren, then. Come around, I’ll make our coffee.”

Once on the other side of the bar, Goro made himself comfortable in the seat he occupied a few nights ago. Ren quietly made his coffee for him and shot him the smallest of smiles.

“So you were in distress and came running to me, hm? I’m flattered.”

It took everything in him not to snort out a laugh. “Don’t think so highly of yourself. I could have hid from them anywhere.”

“And yet you hide behind my counter. Why is that Goro?” He placed the cup of coffee down in front of him and stared.

That made him actually laugh this time, offering a shrug then adding sugar to his drink. “First place I thought of; everywhere else is crawling with more people insistent on giving me useless things.”

Ren handed him a spoon before he could even ask for one and began to make his own drink. “Ah, the woes of being a household name.”

“Of being that ‘annoying guy on television’.” Goro corrected him with a slight smirk. He was quite enjoying their banter. It was taking his mind off of other things that usually occupied his birthday.

“You’re going to hold that against me forever, aren’t you?” Ren mused with a sigh and shook his head. “Do people usually hunt you down like that? Or—”

“This is normal, though today is exceptionally terrible.” The coffee soothed him as he sipped it. The air around Leblanc began breaking down his tension once again. It was almost like magic, the way it worked so quickly. Though, perhaps, part of the charm of this place was the quick-witted barista who took a seat next to him once more.

Ren paused a moment though, before fully sitting himself down. “Have you eaten yet?”

He absently chewed his lip in thought. “Truthfully, no. I haven’t had much time.” Ren nodded in understanding and got up, walking to the door.

“Watch the shop for me for 5 minutes.”

“Wha—”

But before he could say another word, Ren walked out of the cafe, leaving Goro sitting at the bar, perplexed.

What the hell was that about? Surely he would get in trouble leaving a customer in the cafe unattended. However, Ren showed up just a few minutes later, almost five minutes on the dot, and flipped the sign to Closed.

“Sorry, I needed to grab something around the corner.” He explained but it left Goro a bit bewildered.

“Why did you—”

“No one else comes in on Saturdays, that’s why boss lets me work them after school. I live here; it’s part of my rent deal with him.” He explained, dropping off a small paper bag on the counter and heading back to the kitchen. A few moments later he re-emerged with a plate filled with curry and rice.

“What is all this?”

“It’s on me.” Ren grinned sheepishly at him. “Sorry I can’t do more than this.”

This boy was really a puzzle he didn’t quite comprehend yet.

“It’s your birthday, right, Ace Detective Akechi Goro?”

He didn’t even know where to begin with this. The gesture was enough to leave him a bit speechless, though the growl in his stomach echoed his sentiment better than he ever could. He supposed Ren remembered from the other night when Sae had treated him; she did comment about how it was his birthday. However, this was still very sudden.

The obvious questions that came to his mind, but he couldn’t formulate them. He didn’t know what it was about this smug little shit that made him lose his words so easily but…

“Thank you.”

“You’re still paying for my coffee.”

He clicked his tongue and smiled. “Fine by me.”

They enjoyed each other’s company in silence as Goro ate. It really was some of the best curry he had ever eaten. The complex richness of the sauce complimented the particular bitterness of the coffee he was drinking. Once finished he closed his eyes and let out a relieved sigh.

“That was amazing. I’m jealous you get to eat this every day.”

“Come by more often, then. I have that rival title to earn, remember?”

“I don’t know of any rival who would buy a birthday dinner for the other one.” He joked before swallowing the rest of his coffee.

“Well, now you do.” Quickly Ren grabbed the paper bag and handed it to Goro.

“It’s just a piece of cake. Nothing too special.” He peeked in the bag and chuckled, setting it aside. He could eat it later in the comfort of his own apartment.

“I have to say, this has been most unusual. All of this.” He motioned between the two of them.  Beside him, he caught the other staring very intently at him. That same look he had given him last time, where it was like he was looking through him. It made his stomach clench; his heart drummed on in his throat.

“Yeah, for me too. I’ve been thinking about you a lot. It’s kinda embarrassing.”

Now that he had eaten and relaxed—now that the immediate threat of girls following him was no longer a pressing issue… now that they were right next to each other... he realized just how close they were. He could almost feel the heat from Ren’s presence sinking into his clothing. He could hear his breathing. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from the upturned corners of Ren’s lips; the deep grey of his half-lidded eyes was pulling him in.

“Glad you came here today.” Ren whispered, just close enough so he could feel his breath ghost across his own lips. He wanted so badly to seal the gap, to let himself go for once. For just once in his life to lose his composure all on his own. To give into desire that was intoxicating him. The opportunity was there, willing and present in front of him. He just had to seize it.

But fear held him back for a split second, a moment that he was afraid he had read too much into the situation, that Ren was just being kind to him. He feared in that second of time, he had mixed up friendliness with something more. He was afraid of being rejected if he closed the minuscule gap between them.

However, Ren did it for him. The warmth that spread through him was nothing like the heat outside. Coffee, curry, nothing he could consume made him feel quite like _this_. He pressed gently back, sinking into the soft kiss, russet eyes closing to enjoy the moment where he finally let his composure break down the mask he had spent his whole life building up. If even for a couple of minutes.

When they pulled away, Goro realized that Ren was more flustered than he was. The tinge of red that stained his cheeks made Goro feel a sense of pride. He had caused this person he had been thinking of constantly for days to blush such a splendid color. It made him grin.

Ren swatted his hand upon noticing his expression. Which caused them both to laugh out of nerves and relief.

Goro caught the last train again that night, but this time Ren walked him. They had spent another evening discussing their personal stories and asking each other questions. None of it felt contrived or scripted. The idea of a bull-fight was so far from his mind that he was completely at ease around Ren once again. After they each ate half the cake piece Ren had bought Goro on a whim, they shared another simple, sweet kiss. Goro’s alarm on his phone interrupted, buzzing to let him know it was time to leave. Though he didn’t want to.

“Come back soon, okay?” Ren requested as they were saying their goodbyes at the station.

“Oh, you’re number.” Goro handed him his phone but Ren waved it away.

“I got yours. I’ll contact you.” He grinned at him. “Man, lucky the Phantom Thieves didn’t send out one of their calling cards today. Otherwise, this would have never happened, huh?”

Goro rolled his eyes and scoffed. “I suppose I must be grateful to them for that at least. Though, I’m sure it was just a coincidence.”

“Some rivals they are then, not even making a ruckus on your birthday?” Ren laughed and Goro couldn’t help but join him.

“Who knows the reason?” He wanted so badly to lean in again and kiss him, just once more before the train came, but he resisted. He could come back whenever he wanted. He didn’t think he had time for a relationship, but something about Ren made him want to pencil him into his otherwise busy schedule.

“Goro.” His laughter trailed off as he looked at Ren and tilted his head.

“Yes?”

He looked as if he wanted to say something but shook his head. “Nothing. Nevermind. I’m just happy you came by today.”

“Me too.”

“Happy birthday. I hope it was a good one, even if you spent it with your rival.”

“Still going on about that?”

“Always.”

Another moment, but this one Goro did seize, leaning down ever so slightly to press a quick kiss to his lips before anyone saw. Not that anyone would… they were the only people in the station. However, the timing was perfect because the train rolled up beside them and they parted ways, reluctantly.

“Hey, Goro.” Ren turned around suddenly just as he stepped through the doors. “Check your email when you get home.”

The doors closed swiftly before he could ask for clarification.

What the hell was that about? His mind was racing from everything that had happened within the last two days, the added vagueness of Ren’s parting comment to him making him ponder the entire way home.

Did Ren somehow get his email to send him something?

There was a small knot of uncertainty that lingered in his stomach. Luckily, it was easy to get home; the crowds that greeted him at the local station were gone by now. He was sure he disappointed so many people, but he was glad he did what he did to get away from them. The whole day had been a blur, except for the hours spent at Leblanc, laughing and talking with someone who made him feel so comfortable… and interested him so much.

He announced he was home to empty air and kicked off his shoes before sitting down in front of his computer and booting it up.

His hand was sweating slightly as he clicked to open his email, the blank draft from earlier greeting him before anything else in his inbox. He almost clicked away from it but… something was stopping him from doing so. Some hunch that was beginning to gain credibility.

Goro took a deep breath and dragged his cursor across the body of the draft. There it was, written in white font—

 

Happy Birthday! Thanks for spending valuable time with your worthy rival. Text me when you get home. My number is [XXXXXXXXXXX]

PS. I hope this doesn’t make things weird between us. <3

-Joker

Of course. Of freaking course.

He couldn’t help but be amused by the revelation. So many things made sense now. The reason why Ren knocked over the cups from a few nights ago was the first clue. The rival comments, the strong opposition to his stance on the Phantom Thieves. Everything made sense. He laughed and shook his head. Fate was so strange.

Goro pulled his phone out and sent a message to the number quickly.

[Made it home, Ren.]

He didn’t have to wait long at all for another message to shoot back to him.

[Good, I’m glad. We’re good on the coffee offer now, by the way. Today was great. Let’s do it again.]

The detective thought about it for a moment. He supposed there were worse things in the world than accidentally ending up being interested in someone he was actively trying to put in prison.

[Are you going to write me more notes in ‘invisible’ ink to set a rendezvous?] He sighed and massaged his shoulder gingerly. He should have been more surprised than he actually was. But maybe he already knew and just didn’t want to acknowledge it.

[Not if you didn’t think it was cool.]

[It wasn’t that cool.]

[It was pretty cool, you’re just too embarrassed to admit you enjoyed it.]

Really this guy…

[I’ll text you my next day off.]

He was absolutely ridiculous to want this to happen still. Every part of his logical side was screaming at him to just turn Ren in and finally crack the case of the Phantom Thieves but…

His emotions were just as loud. He enjoyed the time he had spent with the other teen, as short as their time together had been.

He had another decision to make and looked over at the clock. There were still another ten minutes left to his birthday. And he made a foolish wish he decided he would make come true.

He was going to allow himself to live for his life. And if that meant enjoying time with Amamiya Ren, the leader of the Phantom Thieves, then so be it. He was an expert on sniffing out ulterior motives in others, and Ren exhibited none of the signs of it. If he really wanted to just use him, or throw him off his track, he could have easily taken up the red flag and fought him. But, instead, he sought to meet Goro, to make him feel significant for no other reason than the desire to. He could feel the power behind that connection, the attraction that fueled it. And he wanted to revel in it.

So he let himself.

[Sounds good. I hope you sleep well.]

[You too. Thank you for today.]

[It would have been better if I knew you were coming. You really surprised me.]

[I should be saying that about you; you did just kind ruin my whole perception of the Phantom Thieves.]

[What can I say? I’ve been told I’m quite the Joker.]

The most surprising thing should have been that the person he was interested in was actually the leader of the elusive Phantom Thieves, a group he had been hunting down for a year with no luck.

The most surprising thing should have been how fate seemed to bring them together. Of all the people in Tokyo, Amamiya Ren had to be at a cafe that he happened to visit with Sae.

However, the most surprising thing in all of this was that his self-proclaimed ‘worthy’ rival was actually incredibly lame. Especially for someone he hyped up in his head to be this mysterious entity. Instead of the standard banter of a criminal and detective locked in a dastardly game of cat and mouse... he was subjected to Ren… third-year high school student with a corny sense of humor and stunning eyes.

But the smile on his face was numbing. He didn’t end up sleeping until much later, texting Ren for several hours after he crawled into bed.

For once, his day was made by the nosy press. If they hadn’t stalked him down and outed him for his favorite places, he may have never gone to Leblanc. He may have never formed this connection. Though he was sure, maybe, somehow they would have met in the future, probably with sirens blaring in the air and handcuffs.

But that’s not what happened. The usual sullen mood that followed his birthday didn’t come for him this year, either. For once, his birthday was actually a pleasant one. As his eyes closed, leaden with sleep, a thought occurred to him.

Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad—even if the tabloids got a hold of pictures of them… maybe it wouldn’t be too terrible if they found out he was dating someone. Maybe they’d all leave him alone after that.

Nonetheless, he drifted off with a smile on his face. He knew one thing for certain—

It was a good day, indeed.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I'm sad AO3 kind of messed up my fun little interaction with you guys by not letting me write Joker's email to Goro in white but it is what it is.
> 
> My twitter is @chromiekins


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